Ark: Survival Evolved: A Survivor's Tale
by nobleowl
Summary: Never would I have imagined waking up on a mysterious island. Never would I have imagined having to go toe to claw with a Rex! This is my tale. My name is Jean, a survivor of the Ark. Together with my fellow survivors, we face horrors that the average human would never have to face. I hope you heed my story and may it help you survive the Ark! Good luck!
1. Chapter 1

"The rolling sound of waves crashing against the beach was the first sounds I heard. I moaned and rolled over, breathing in warm sand in the process. My eyes flew open. "What the?" I gasped. It took several seconds to get my eyes to adjust to the sunlight. I didn't dare stand. Maybe I had suffered some sort of head trauma?  
Palm trees swayed in the breeze and a bird waddled past me. I leaned forward, using my hand to support my weight. It was about the size of a turkey. The wings were almost hilariously tiny for its chubby body. I stared at it. "Why do you look so familiar?" I asked the bird. Ridiculous, I know, to be talking to a bird. Deep in my heart, though, I knew this bird. I've seen this bird in books.

The chubby bird continued to waddle past me, completely ignorant that grown woman was sitting in the sand. The sand was very warm; the heat burned the skin on my thighs. Wait…my thighs?! I looked down at my body. I was virtually naked, the only things that covered my body was a bra and panties that appeared to be made out of the hide of animals. "What is this?" I yelped.

Then I noticed something in my left forearm, near my wrist. It itched slightly. I scratched at it. "It's hard," I mumbled to myself. It was shaped like a diamond and had a texture similar to a gemstone. It appeared to be made out of sapphire. Or at least the color was sapphire. I had no idea what this strange diamond shaped gem was made of.

"Ugh, my head…" I jumped at the sound of a new voice. Female. I turned slightly and noticed a slight slope to my right. I had to be cautious. This place…this beach…wherever the hell I was…was new. I had no idea what to expect. I crawled on my belly through the sand, reaching the slope. I peered down.

There was a woman, who was sitting on a rock. She looked just as confused as I was. Like me, she wore the same bra and panties, Unlike me, her hair was blonde with tints of red. My hair is chestnut brown. I couldn't see her eye color from where I was perched. I did notice that she had a diamond gem on her left arm as well—although hers was purple. Perhaps made of amethyst

I watched for several minutes, debating. She appeared harmless. I'd guess that she was in her early 20s. I bit my lip and glanced at a nearby rock on the ground. I made my decision. From my perch, I could see her body. She was tall, perhaps taller than me. But she was thin. Not much muscle in her arms. I quickly examined my arm. I was bigger than she was. My arm muscles twitched as I reached for the rock.

Slowly, I slid down the slope. The woman seemed to be observing something in the water. It looked vaguely like a horseshoe crab, only somewhat bigger. I crept closer. I was so focused on the feeling of the rock in my hand that I failed to notice the stick.

SNAP!

The woman jerked in my direction, hands raised in a defensive posture. In my shock, I released the rock. It fell into the sand with a dull thud. "Who are you?" The woman asked shakily.

I noticed that she was scared. No threat. At least for now. "My name is Jean. Who are you?" I asked.

"Yuki," she replied nervously. Her grey eyes darted around as she scanned her surroundings. "Where are we?"

"I was hoping you had some answers to that question," I answered.

She shook her head and sighed, "I'm glad that I'm not the only person here on this beach." The odd chubby bird that I had seen earlier waddled by and Yuki backed away from it. "I don't trust that thing," she said warily.

"I recognize that bird," I mumbled. The name of the bird was on the tip of my tongue. "It's…a dodo?" The word slipped out of my mouth. Every fiber of my being knew that that was ridiculous. The dodo was extinct.

"A dodo?" Yuki echoed my statement. She looked puzzled. "How?"

How should I know?" I asked, sounding slightly more annoyed that I had intended. I looked at the sky. It was a bright sunny day. It was a bit warm though. "Hey, you said your name was Yuki, right?"

She nodded, "Yes."

I suggest we try to find shelter or something. Night will come before we know it and I have no idea if there is a city nearby or what."

Yuki's eyes widened and she nodded. "If we follow water, we might find a town. Most towns were built near sources of water."

I shrugged, "We can give it a try." Then a thought occurred to me. "Yuki? What if we're the only humans here? What if there is no one else?"

Yuki shuddered, "Don't talk like that. Look, Jean, let's look for a town. I'd rather not dress myself in leaves. I'm betting that we'll find a town."

I hesitated for a minute. Maybe she was right. A town had to be nearby. We couldn't be the only people here. "I agree. Maybe we'll find some help," I agreed. She and I began to walk down the beach. The water lapped at my toes. The beach felt endless. To the right of us were palm trees, shrubs, and rocks. To the right of us, water. "I wonder if this ocean is salt water," I muttered.

Yuki knelt down and looked into the clear water. "I'm scared to try it," she whispered. She sniffed the air uncertainly. "It doesn't smell like the ocean."

I leaned down and dipped my hand into the water. It felt cool and refreshing. I sipped it and felt relief. "It's fine. Freshwater," I said to Yuki.

Yuki looked uncertain as she also took a sip. "How can the oceans be made of freshwater?" Her voice wavered nervously.

"Maybe this isn't an ocean? Perhaps we're next to a lake. One of the Great Lakes, perhaps," I rubbed my chin thoughtfully. Off in the distance, I heard something bellow in pain. Yuki shot a look at me. "Maybe that was the sound of a car?" I offered hopefully. I knew it wasn't but I had to try to keep my new friend calm. Yuki looked terrified and, to be honest, I wasn't doing much better. But I had to stay calm. Had to. If I lost my mind, it would stay lost. "Let's go. We need to find a town," I said in my best leader voice.

Yuki and I continued walking down the beach. Occasionally I saw dorsal fins rising from the water. I did not show them to Yuki. She did not need to be more worried than she was. Instead, we focused our path forward. I saw sea birds flying over the water. I breathed a sigh of relief. Yuki saw the birds too. "Seagulls?" She asked.

I paused and examined the outline of the birds as they flew. "Looks more like a group of albatross. Look at the wings. See how they are narrow? Like an albatross." Then one of the birds flew overhead and landed nearby. That's when I realized that I was staring at no albatross.

Yuki glanced at me and asked, "Are they normally that big?"

I shook my head, "No." The bird I was looking at was huge. It could easily carry me on its back. It had pure white feathers and a long jagged beak. It waddled slowly toward the water. Once it reached the edge, the bird became like a swan, elegant and swift as it used its webbed feet to propel it across the surface of the water. "That's not an albatross. That's something very different."

She and I watched the bird for several seconds. "Um, Jean? What's that?" Yuki pointed at a large dark shape in the water.

I examined it. It appeared to be swimming toward the surface. The tail fin swished side to side, like a fish. It was making a beeline toward the location of the massive seabird. An ominous feeling was in my stomach. The bird seemed to sense that there was danger nearby as well. With a loud screech, it spread its wings to perform a water takeoff. It flapped its wings a few times, trying to get aloft.

"Oh my—" Yuki gasped as the fish swam closer and closer. "Is that a shark?" She asked.

I couldn't understand what I was seeing. Yes, it had the body of a shark but it was massive. I couldn't comprehend this creature. When it was swimming toward the surface, I thought it was big. Now that it was almost on top of us, it was enormous.

The bird noticed the shark too. It shrieked and flapped again—this time with urgency. A breeze caught the wings of the bird and allowed it to get aloft. But it was too low to the water's surface.

The shark leaped out of the water and grabbed the bird from the air. The bird never knew what hit it. Yuki and I watched as the shark swam away with its victim, blood trailing from its massive jaws.

"What the hell was that?!" Yuki cried. She was visibly shaken.

I was shaken up too. I had once seen a movie that had a giant great white shark in it. This beast that killed the bird was easily three to four times bigger than the movie shark.

So we stood, Yuki and I, side by side. Under normal circumstances, she and I would have never met—but here we were, staring in horror. We had seen a creature that we thought only existed in movies. A realization slowly built up in me. If this massive shark existed, then what other horrors could we run into? I glanced at Yuki. Her grey eyes were wide with fear. She glanced in my direction and we both came to a silent agreement.

From this point forward, she and I were united under a common goal—survive.


	2. Chapter 2

The monster shark had vanished almost as quickly as it had appeared. It seemed as though our eyes had opened to the possibility of very real danger. Yuki had thought that perhaps we'd find a town if we stayed close to the water. After seeing the mega shark, the thought of finding civilization was quickly fading from my mind.

"Jean, we have to keep going. We've got to find a town. Now!" Yuki urged. She glanced at the forest. "The beach represents safety. But the water is not safe. Not even close."

I looked up at the sun. It was about midday. We'd have to either find a town or shelter soon. Night would be coming and I did not want to meet any wildlife in the open. I didn't care if it was deer or a raccoon—I wasn't interested in seeing any animals at night.

"Jean! Let's go!" Yuki urged again. She grabbed my arm and pulled.

"Yuki, we need to prepare ourselves in case we can't find others," I said quietly.

She stared at me and growled, "There is a town here!" She released my arm and began to run down the beach. I watched and wondered why she was burning so much energy running. Another concern that was starting to take shape in my mind was food. I was starting to feel a bit hungry.

"Yuki! We need food and water. Let's head in toward the forest. Maybe if we're lucky, we'll find apple trees or something." I pointed at a gap in the trees. "Looks like a path that animals use to get to the beach."

She shook her head frantically. I shrugged and started toward the forest. "WAIT!" Yuki wailed, rushing to my side. Her breath was rapid and her eyes darted around in fear.

"Will you relax?" I asked, attempting to keep the annoyance out of my voice. I was expecting Yuki to retort with something sarcastic but a loud honk interrupted her.

The trees swayed and groaned as something (or multiple something's) meandered past. I tensed up, ready to flee at a moment notice. Then I saw the newcomer and breathed a sigh of relief.

"It's okay, Yuki. They won't hurt—WHAT THE HELL ARE THESE?!" I shrieked as the realization slowly dawned upon me. I knew these creatures from books.

Parasaurolophus, a dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous period, roamed into view. 33 feet long and God only knows how many tons, this dinosaur sported an impressive horn on the top of its head. The alpha of the herd was a muddy brown color and had a long scar running across his left flank.

Yuki's mouth opened and closed like a fish. "What on earth?" Her voice was full of disbelief. "Will they eat us?"

"No. They're herbivores. Stay out of their way though."

"Why?"

"We don't want to scare them and start a stampede. They may not eat us but they can still kill us."

Yuki watched as the rest of the herd lumbered fully into view. "What are these creatures called?"

"Parasaurolophus," I replied.

Her eyes blinked and she asked, "Do you honestly expect me to remember that? I'm going to call them parasaurs."

A little baby parasaur approached me. It made a nasal honk and sniffed my leg. I watched as it bent to the ground and nibbled at a berry. The berry was purple in color. "Are these edible?" I asked the baby parasaur. It snorted at my hand and wandered back toward the herd.

Yuki watched warily as I grabbed a berry and popped it into my mouth. "You sure that's wise? It might be toxic," she called to me.

The berry tasted vaguely like blueberries. It wasn't bad. And it would sustain us until we found more effective foods. "Come on, Yuki. Eat up," I called to her.

We each grabbed a handful of berries and sat down next to a giant tree. The herd of parasaurs ignored us and blissfully continued grazing. I inhaled nervously. This world was unreal! It had to be. Dinosaurs and birds the size of planes and sharks as big as boats. Unreal!

I had to be dead and this had to be my hell. But a feeling deep in my stomach betrayed me. I was definitely alive. Alive in a world that was not my own—my world had houses, cars, stores, and most of all, people.

"Yuki. Where are you from?" I asked.

She looked surprised and answered, "I'm from Stroudsburg, PA. It's in America."

"Stroudsburg, eh? Never been there." I closed my eyes and rested my back against the tree. "What did you used to do?"

"I am a game developer," she replied. "I also design various props for cosplays. What about you? Where are you from?"

"I was born and raised in Parkersburg, WV. Another American town," I answered. A smile crept across my face. "I work at a restaurant and fueling station hybrid. It's extremely convenient. You can order food and get gas at the same place."

Yuki looked at me and shrugged, "It's not like any of our experience matters now. I don't think you having customer service skills matter much to a herd of dinosaurs."

I laughed and pictured me trying to card a triceratops for a pack of cigarettes. "Yuki, do you think we'll find a town?" I asked.

She hesitated then answered slowly, "I certainly hope so. Although I'd be satisfied with finding another human."

The alpha rose up suddenly and honked. The others jerked in alarm. Yuki and I looked up at the alpha. The herd grew silent. Even the babies froze in place. The sound of thunder could be heard. And it was growing closer.

"What is that sound?" Yuki whispered. I shrugged and watched the herd. The alpha hooted loudly and the herd rushed forward in a panic.

Then from the trees, they arrived. There were three of them, working as a pack. They were smaller than the fleeing parasaurs but still were rather large. These new creatures ran on two legs. Their arms were almost laughably small. Two horns, like a bull, jutted from their heads. Razor sharp teeth lined their mouths.

"Carnotaurus," I whispered in fear.


	3. Chapter 3

The lead carno rushed forward and the other two flanked him. I could tell that he was a leader of the pack. His reddish body was covered in scars. Part of his tail appeared to have been bitten off. His allies were both brown and appeared to be a bit younger (they had less damage).

The leader snorted a command to his underlings. They growled an answer and pulled away. The parasaurs were in full panic. The strong and healthy herbivores pulled away from the vicious carnivores. However, the old and sick lagged behind.

Yuki and I had the unfortunate privilege of watching the carnos single out an old parasaur. It was limping as it lumbered forward. The young carno leaped out of nowhere. I could barely understand where it had come from. Apparently when the leader carno commanded the underlings to back off, it was to get into position for an ambush.

"Oh God!" Yuki moaned as the carno tore a large chuck out of the fleeing parasaur.

The bellow in pain was earth shattering. Blood oozed from the wound. Fear appeared in the parasaur's eyes.

The second young carno dipped in front of the parasaur and tilted its head to the side, slitting the parasaur across the throat. Another bellow followed.

I watched from behind the tree. The parasaur stumbled. The wounds that had been inflicted on it were severe. Then the leader of the carnos strode forward. He didn't even run. He knew he didn't have to—the parasaur was beyond saving.

Opening his massive jaws, the carnotaurus grabbed the parasaur by the neck. Bone snapped like twigs. Blood sprayed from the wound. The carnos roared in victory. They would eat well today.

I heard a sound and saw Yuki vomiting. "Yuki? Please stop. You're making too much noise," I whispered. Granted, the sounds of the carnos were far louder than Yuki. However, I sensed that if she did not stop, she would draw other creatures.

Yuki looked up at me, panting. "Did you see that?! How are you not panicked?!"

I was scared. Oh God yes. I was scared out of my mind. But I could not allow myself to become overrun by the fear. "Yuki, let's get out of here," I urged.

We stumbled to our feet and staggered away from the carnos. "We should go back to the beach," Yuki muttered. "It's safer there."

I nodded slowly, and then froze. I listened. I could pick up something on the wind. A sound. Voices! Three different voices.

"Where the hell are we?" A male voice grumbled.

"I'm scared!" The female exclaimed.

Finally, another male grumbled, "Will you two shut up?"

"YUKI!" I yelled, completely ignoring the fact that there was three carnos not too far away.

She wheeled around and stared at me. "What?"

"Let's go! There's people!" I took off running. She gasped and raced after me. We ignored all perils around us. I knew I heard people.

We topped a hill—and about ran into the trio. "What the hell?!" The tall male yelped in surprise.

"I can't believe it! People!" Yuki got down on her knees and cried.

I shook my head and sized up the newcomers. I was right. Three people: two males and a female. The tall mall was very attractive. His hair was black and curly. His brown eyes were fierce and darted around cautiously.

The second male was rather vertically challenged. His hair was light brown and his eyes were blue green. I noticed that he had a perpetual grin on his face. There was something about him that I didn't trust.

The female was younger. Her long blonde hair rippled behind her as she looked at Yuki and me. Her eyes were blue.

"Who are you?" The tall man asked.

I was almost transfixed by his steely gaze. "My name is Jean. And this is Yuki," I gestured at my friend, who was still weeping happily.

He nodded and raised a hand to me. I took it and he shook my head. "My name is Tyler," he said. Tyler glanced back at his companions. "That's Mikey and Lyndsay."

Mikey grinned and bowed low. "It's a pleasure to meet you, fair lady," he said as he took my hand. I looked at him with disgust as he kissed my hand.

"Creepy…" Yuki mumbled.

Lyndsay looked happy. "We didn't think there was anyone else. Do you know where we are?"

I shook my head and answered, "No clue. All I know is that we need to keep an eye open for dinosaurs."

"Dinosaurs?" Mikey echoed. He snorted with laughter. "Please. Dinosaurs?"

Yuki looked stunned. "You mean you didn't see those big ass monsters attack those duck billed parasaurs?"

Mikey shrugged, "I heard a bunch of roaring. Thought it was a deer."

I blinked and looked at Mikey closely. He was a sarcastic young man and seemed to be making light of the situation we all were in. Tyler looked a bit annoyed with Mikey. "Deer? Seriously?" Tyler glared at him.

"What?" Mikey asked innocently.

Lyndsay raised both of her arms and exclaimed, "Stop it! All of you. We need to figure out where we are and try to find civilization."

Tyler nodded, "You're right. We also need to find food. I missed breakfast. You guys know what is safe to eat around here?"

"We ate these purple berries. Haven't died yet," I made a half-hearted attempt at a joke.

Yuki nodded, "They tasted pretty good too."

"Okay. Let's try to find other people and find food along the way," Tyler rubbed his hands together and smiled dashingly. "Come on, guys. Let's go!"


	4. Chapter 4

I glanced over my shoulder at my shadow. The day was passing quickly. And for the most part, no one had eaten. And moods were getting frayed. Tyler walked next to Yuki and occasionally muttered about how unreal this place was.

Mikey was just plain cranky. "My feet hurt. And the sun is starting to give me a sunburn," he whined.

Tyler glanced back. "Neither one of us are wearing shirts. Or pants. And the ladies are nearly as naked as we are."

Lyndsay shook her head slowly and rolled her eyes. "Big baby," she muttered.

I shook my head and continued walking down the beach. I had suggested going into the forest to hunt for berries and other edible items, but Mikey had urged that we stay on the beach. He was afraid we'd find 'killer bunnies'.

No one seemed to like Mikey that much. He was too arrogant, too sarcastic, and too sure of himself. Tyler and Lyndsay, though they did not see the carno, knew that there were creatures here much bigger than we were. Mikey, on the other hand, thought we all were crazy. Who knows? Maybe he was right. This whole place seemed crazy.

"I'm so hungry," Yuki groaned. She looked miserable. Her grey eyes looked so sad. "We did find those berries in the forest," she tried once again to suggest scouting the forest. And for Yuki, to be willing to go into the forest, that was unusual.

Mikey shook his head rapidly, "Hell no. I vote we try to find some delicious shellfish. Maybe get a fish or two."

"With what, pray tell?" I asked quickly. I stopped walking and turned to face him. "In case you haven't noticed, we don't have tools. Unless you have a fishing pole hidden somewhere, how do you expect to fish? Hmm?"

Mikey grinned, "I'm fast. I can catch a fish with my bare hands."

Lyndsay rolled her eyes and mumbled, "He's all talk."

He whipped around to look at her. "Oh? You challenge me? I bet I'll find food before anyone else does!" Mikey seemed so confident.

"It's not a contest," Tyler said patiently.

Mikey grinned, "Oh? Okay, curls, you're just afraid you'll lose."

Tyler frowned and retorted, "No. I'm just not interested in making stupid challenges. We all need food. We're a team."

I watched as Mikey hopped on top of a rock and announced, "I will feed us! I will be the provider!"

"Idiot," I muttered. A shadow moved toward us and I glanced up. A large winged creature was coming in for a landing. "Oh what now?" I grumbled.

The creature landed next to us, unafraid. It had a long thin crest on top of its head and a beak filled with sharp jagged teeth. The body of the creature was a dark green with black stripes. "What is that?!" Lyndsay gasped.

The winged creature waddled past us. "It's a pteranodon," I answered calmly. It was so weird to be calm around a prehistoric animal. Was I getting used to this world?

"What's a pteranodon?" Lyndsay asked me. "Is it dangerous?"

"It's a carnivore but mostly eats fish," I replied.

Tyler reached a hand out to touch the flyer on the head. The pteranodon stopped and stared at Tyler. "I won't hurt you," he said gently. His trembling hand stroked the crest.

"Be careful. It might bite," Yuki warned.

Tyler glanced down and saw a shellfish crawl past. "Hey? You like these? Hey?" He asked the pteranodon. The reptile turned its head to focus on the shellfish. With a screech, it plunged its beak into the trilobite and pierced the shell.

"Nice!" Tyler said happily. "I'll name you Cloud."

"Why are you giving it a name?" Mikey asked. "It's not a pet."

The pteranodon ate the trilobite, then opened its wings and flew away. "Well, crap. I was hoping I could ride it. Be a lot easier than walking," Tyler sighed.

Mikey shrugged, "You can't tame these beasts." He smirked and pointed at himself. "You can't tame this beast as well. Ladies have been trying to tame me for years."

Yuki, Lyndsay, and I exchanged looks. We all shook our heads. Tyler rolled his eyes and laid a hand against his stomach. "I'm getting really hungry," he grumbled.

Mikey ran forward, "I'll find us food!"

"What a moron," I mumbled. Yuki snickered.

We continued making our way down the beach. I could hear the roar of a waterfall somewhere nearby. Then, to our left, the waterfall appeared in the distance. It was beautiful to behold. The water reflected the sun, creating a rainbow.

"Let's drink," Tyler said.

We all approached the water and dipped our hands under the surface. It was cool and clean. Our thirst was quenched but, unfortunately, we all were still hungry.

Overtop the sound of the waterfall, I heard a subtle sound. Maybe it was because I was so hungry that I could detect such a quiet sound. Or maybe it was the fact that I did not like bugs. I heard the sound of buzzing nearby.

"A hive!" Mikey yelled happily.

Tyler backed away slowly. "It's so low to the ground. We should go away. I'm not interested in being stung by a bunch of bees."

I agreed, "I'm hungry but not for honey."

Mikey shook his head. "Oh come on, cowards. Honey is the nectar of the gods. The sweet delicious golden treat!"

"You're hungry and not thinking straight. Get away from that hive!" Lyndsay shouted.

Mikey pushed a rock over to stand on it. "I am getting me some honey. You guys can't stop me!"

I watched as he grabbed a stick and climbed up on the rock. Gently, he poked a hole into the hive. Then, with a sick grin, stuck his arm inside.

"Get away from there!" Tyler urged.

Mikey smiled as he removed his arm. Honey dripped from him. He licked his arm and savored the flavor. "Sweet honey!" He exclaimed as he reinserted his arm into the hive.

Then he flinched. "Ouch!" He yelped. Mikey pulled out and examined his arm. A welt appeared. "I've been stung. Oh well…" He said and started to put himself back into the hive.

I watched in horror as they emerged. Bees, but not your ordinary honey bee. Oh no. We weren't that lucky. The bees were about 6 inches long. The stingers were very visible on their bodies.

"Oh no. Ohhh no," I moaned. A little known fact about me is that I am terrified of bugs. Seeing a bee that size was like my worst nightmare.

Mikey screamed as the bees began to swarm over him. They covered his body, went into his mouth, and stung him mercilessly. "HELP ME!" He wailed in agony.

Then the bees noticed that we were standing too close to the hive. "RUN!" I screamed as the bees began to dive at us.

And so, we ran. We ran away from the bees. We ran away from the screams of Mikey. We fled for our lives. Eventually the swarm left us alone. Eventually the screams of Mikey vanished.

Yuki had suggested we go back and see what happened to Mikey. I said no. We did not need to see his bloated corpse lying next to the beautiful waterfall. Tyler agreed with me and the discussion was dropped.

"I knew I should never leave the house without bug spray," I muttered quietly.


End file.
